Why history teachers hate Wikipedia and what you can do about it.

Do all history teachers hate Wikipedia? In truth, hate is probably too strong a word. After all, Wikipedia has many useful features, and even I, a card carrying Wikipedia hating history teacher, have used it upon occasion. But if we don’t all hate it, then why do so many of us stipulate that our students do not use Wikipedia as a research source?

Problem One: Wikipedia has no official editor or fact checker, so the site is known to contains mistakes and content biases. I run across mistakes all the time. Once, while I was preparing a curriculum for the film Spirit Bear: The Simon Jackson Story, Wikipedia linked me to a biography about a different Simon Jackson. If I hadn’t been checking all my sources, I would have made a seriously foolish mistake. As for biases, the site even has a page where readers may question any article’s neutrality, along with a backlog of articles yet to be processed and a request for volunteer help. As a researcher, I’ve learned how to find facts within biases, but how many high school students take the time to read the discussion behind the discussion?

Problem Two: The site does not really feature primary source material. If you look up Spirit Bear in Wikipedia, you will find this entry. If you Google past Wikipedia, you will suddenly you find this site, which contains Simon Jackson’s story told in his own words. Look up Apollo 13 on Wikipedia and you will find this entry. Search a little further on the web, and you will stumble on this official e-book about the Apollo missions posted by NASA Headquarters. It includes a first hand five-page account of what happened aboard Apollo 13 written by one of the three men who lived it, James A. Lovell. Take a look at the difference between the Wikipedia entry and the five-page account written by Lovell, and you tell me which is the more interesting and accurate account. You tell me why a history teacher might actually want a student to search past Wikipedia.

Problem Three: The writing on Wikipedia is largely atrocious, causing many an editor to cringe in terror. It is full of passive construction, vague subjects, and run on sentences. People add information by adding facts to existing ideas; so most sentences end up constructed something like this:

Apollo 13 was intended to be the third manned lunar-landing mission, part of Project Apollo under NASA in the United States, that would look more closely into the surface of the moon.

A good editor might take the time to write this:

“NASA intended Apollo 13 to be Project Apollo’s third manned lunar-landing and designed its systems to examine the lunar surface up close.”

I know this edit may seem silly to many people, but how will kids ever learn to write clear and effective sentences if they are constantly exposed to unclear and wordy writing?

Problem Four: Wikipedia is too easy. In our instant access online world, information is one click away. When kids use search engines to do historical research, nine times out of ten Wikipedia is the first link offered to them. Moreover, I don’t blame them for clicking on the Wikipedia link because they have come to depend on it. They know that most of the other links presented to them lead to an endless number of commercial sites offering links to another endless number of commercial sites.

So what is a student of history to do?

Google has a free online search feature for its AdSense members that has solved the problem for my students. I was able to formate a specialized search engine that weeds out all sites based upon my preferences. I designed my new search engine so it will only access educational, miliatry, governmental, and a few hand picked organizational sites. In other words, the search engine only looks for URLs with edu, mil, int., and gov, designations. When I tried my new search engine, I was thrilled with the outcome. I immediately found dozens of excellent sites that that would have been buried by other search engines. In fact, I found the wonderful online e-book by NASA on my specialized search engine within the first page of listings. My students and I have said goodbye to the overly commercialized misinformation super highway and finally said hello to a search engine that quickly meets both our scholastic needs.

The Google AdSense account is free. You just need to have a blog or website where you can insert the HTML codes to access your new search engine.

If you are a member of Historybusters, you can access the search engine I’ve just described through your members center. Give it a try the next time your kids have to do online research, and discover how much more fun the informational super highway is without all the commercial traffic.

Saint Patrick's Day is almost here...

Did you know that Saint Patrick was not Irish, and he never drove a single snake from Ireland? In fact, Ireland never had any snakes; however, Ireland did have a strong pagan tradition that considered the snake sacred. The Irish legend about St. Patrick driving the snakes from Ireland really refers to his driving the old pagan religion out of Ireland. Keep that in mind this Saint Patrick’s Day.

In honor of Saint Patrick’s Day, Historybusters has a few movie recommendations.

Patrick is a fine documentary that doesn’t recount the simple folk myths about Saint Patrick. Instead, this documentary, narrated by Liam Neeson and Gabriel Byrne, offers a dramatic new look at one of the best-loved and least-understood icons of world religion. The story of the real St. Patrick is part adventure tale and part spiritual awakening with the future saint rising from slave to liberator; learning to forgive and ultimately love his enemies; taking up a cause no one believed in; and finally lighting a fire that kept western civilization alive. This film is very family friendly.

St. Patrick: Apostle of Ireland is another fine documentary about the life of the real Saint Patrick. Only two documents written by Patrick, the Confession and his Letter to Coroticus, an Irish warlord, remain to tell us about this important man. Yet these brief writings captured his emotional state, his innermost feelings, and his aspirations. Read in voice-over and mixed with evocative music and gorgeous photography, Patrick’s words carry the viewer back in time to re-live the experience of walking side by side with him. From his birth to his death, viewers are able to witness Patrick’s physical struggles and to participate fully in his transformation and spiritual mission. For those interested in the topic, it is an entrancing piece of work and very family friendly.

Fun Fact about Saint Patty’s Day: In Ireland, those of the Protestant faith do not wear green to honor the day. They wear Orange in honor of William of Orange and their Protestant faith.

To help you understand a bit more about the fight between the Protestant Orange and the Catholic Green here are five more films that we would like to recommend in honor of the day:

Michael Collins
Irish writer-director Neil Jordan tackles the controversial biography of IRA member Michael Collins, one of Ireland’s most important 20th century political leaders, in a lavish film that won critical acclaim on both continents. The film follows Collins as he matures from guerrilla fighter to national statesman, creating a vivid portrait of 1920’s Ireland and its politics. Michael Collins is a wonderfully accurate and superbly crafted film, featuring performances by Liam Neeson, Julia Roberts, Allen Rickman, Aidan Quinn, and Stephan Rae. It does contain mature content.

In the Name of the Father is a 1993 film directed by Jim Sheridan based on the true life story of the Guildford Four, four people falsely convicted of the IRA's Guildford pub bombing which killed 4 off-duty British soldiers and a civilian. The screenplay was adapted by Terry George and Jim Sheridan from the autobiography Proved Innocent by Gerry Conlon. It is a powerful film that contains mature content.

The Wind That Shakes the Barley
Set during the early days of the Irish Republican Army, The Wind That Shakes the Barley provides a mesmerizing look at the profound emotional transitions a fictional young doctor goes through on his road to becoming a saboteur and killer. Providing excellent background into the birth and existence of the IRA, this outstanding film contains mature content.

January 30, 1972, is known as Bloody Sunday in Ireland. Named for the protest that took a violent turn in Londonderry, Northern Ireland. British paratroopers, trying to restore order after a particularly unruly period of unrest, opened fire on a peaceful demonstration; fourteen Irish Catholic civil-rights protesters died. Based Don Mullan's politically influential book Eyewitness Bloody Sunday, this is the definite film about a tragedy most American’s only know about from U2's song "Sunday Bloody Sunday." Filmed in such a way as to make the audience feels that they are there, this truly fine film contains mature content.

The Secret of Roan Inish is technically not history. In fact, it is pure kid friendly fantasy. However, it provides such a delightful look at Irish folklore and life in post World War II Ireland that Historybusters can't help but recommend watching it this month.

And finally, if you are a fan of David Lean films, you should check out Ryan’s Daughter. Set in 1916 Ireland, this gorgeous film tells the story of an Irish girl who has an affair with a British officer during World War I, despite opposition from her nationalist neighbors. The film is a very loose adaptation of Gustave Flaubert's novel Madame Bovary. It does contain mature content.

Hope you find time to sample some Irish history this month. Until next time, thanks and Happy Historybusting...

Hey Members, we have uploaded a new e-book for you

The e-book is called World War II: The Build Up to War. It is Part One in a series that we will be uploading this month about World War II. Beginning with Hitler's rise to power in 1933 and ending with his signing of the Tripartite Pact with Italy and Japan in 1940, this e-book includes all the events and terms your kids are likely to encounter on a history test about the build up to WWII; it also features twenty-one films that can help make the topic interesting, including Soldier of Orange, Das Boat, Enigma, Sink the Bismarck, Dunkirk, Hope and Glory, and many, many more. Drop by your member's drop box to download it.

Meanwhile, Happy Historybusting...

In honor of Martin Luther King Jr.

In honor of the month which gave birth to Martin Luther King Jr., Historybusters has put together a new curriculum on the American Civil Rights Movement beginning with the first African slaves purchaced in Jamestown, Virginia, in 1619, and ending with the election of Barak Obama.in 2008. Members may download this new e-book from their drop box.

Here are just a few of the thirty-three films we recommend:

Race to Freedom
Africans in America
Amazing Grace
Gods and Generals
Gettysburg
Missisipi Burning
Rosewood
Miss Evers' Boys
Our Friend Martin
Citizen King
Gandhi
To Kill a Mockingbird
The Tuskegee Airmen
Something the Lord Made
The Rosa Parks Story
Disney's Ruby Bridges
A Soldiers Story
Frontline's The Choice 2008

In honor of the many past heros, Historybusters asks that you take a moment to share one of these wonderful films with your kids this month.

Historybusters Review of Frost Nixon

Frost Nixon is certainly accurate enought to help someone pass a test, and on the whole we do reccommend it. It should be noted that the Frost Nixon Interviews were not nearly as important as the film makes them out to be, and the interviews themselves are much more interesting to me as a historian. However, if you want to introduce your kids to the Watergate scandal, you can't go wrong with Frost Nixon. We recommend that you also check out All the President's Men and The Pentagon Papers. Both films are Historybuster favortites. Put together all three films, along with the curriculum we have uploaded into the members' drop box, and your kids will be well informed.


Two investigative reporters from the Washington Post, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein were assigned to investigate the Watergate burglary. Based on a number of tips they received from a political source nicknamed Deep Throat, Woodward and Berstein uncovered a link between the Watergate burglars and the White House Plumbers. All the President's Men, starring Dustin Hoffman and Robert Redford, is a marvelous retelling of their story.


Starring James Spader, The Pentagon Papers tells the story of Daniel Ellsberg, the Rand employee who leaked top secret papers to the New York Times in order to set the record straight about America's military and political involvement in Vietnam. It's another Historybusting favorite.

To download the curriculum for these films, drop by your members' drop box...

If you want to know more about Watergate, click here for a wonderful website by the Ford Library...

Got another riddle for you to share with your kids...

A man was born in nineteen-sixty and died in nineteen twelve. How was this possible?

Click on the comments to learn the answer.

In Honor of the Space Race

One of our members requested information about good family friendly films that could bring the Space Race alive. We whole heartily recommend the following award-winning, entertaining, and wonderfully accurate films...

Apollo 13 tells the story of Commander James A. Lovell, Command Module pilot John L. "Jack" Swigert, and Lunar Module pilot Fred W. Haise, who launched from earth on April 11, 1970 in the ill-fated Apollo 13. Two days after the launch, an explosion caused by an electrical fault in an oxygen tank crippled the Apollo spacecraft. Despite great hardship caused by severe constraints on power, the crew successfully returned to Earth. The mission was thus called a "Successful Failure." This wonderful film certainly brings that moment to life.

The Right Stuff tells the story of NASA’s Mercury Program, and the seven men chosen to lead the missions, Malcolm Scott Carpenter, “Gordo” Cooper, Jr., John Glenn, “Gus” Grissom, “Wally” Schirra, Alan Shepard, and “Deke” Slayton. Full of brilliant performances, this film will keep you riveted while it educates.

 

Wonderfully kid friendly, October Sky tells the story of Homer Hickam, son of a West Virginia coal miner who was inspired by the first Sputnik launch to take up rocketry, eventually becoming a NASA engineer. While attending Big Creek High School in 1960, he led a group of boys who built rockets. They called themselves the Big Creek Missile Agency and went on to win the National Science Fair and full college scholarships. Perhaps the best historical element of this film is its combination of Space Race dreams with West Virginia coal town reality. This film introduces kids to the concept of company towns in which everyone lived in a company house, sent their kids to a company school, and shopped in a company store. It also gently introduces them to the union movements who objected to so much company contol, and the powerful draw space flight had on everyday Americans at the time.

From Earth to the Moon is a Golden Globe winning twelve episode miniseries that relates the entire space race, from the Mercury and Gemini projects to the legendary Apollo missions. It may not be star studded, but it tells the full story and entertains at the same time.

In the Shadow of the Moon is a wonderful award-winning documentary that brought together the surviving members of NASA's Apollo missions and allowed them to tell their story in their own words. Mixed with archival footage, we get to meet the men who lived the experience and actually walked on the moon.

All of these films are family friendly, and Historybusters Members may download a Historybusters curriculum full of background and fun facts from their members' drop box to make the Space Race Story even more accessible.